Refrigerator car floor



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1o, 1941,

1N VENTOR.

Junew, 1941. J s, UNDVALL. 2,245,529l

' REFRIGERATOR CAR FLOOR Filed May e, 1959 l s sheets-she@ 2 v 'SS ww M9 l I w v A) mk (Q a m v v i qw m w KQ 1N VENT OR.

Junelo, 1941- .1. s. LuNDvALL REFRIGERATOR CAR FLOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 6, 1959 Patented June 10, 1941 UNITED STATE REFRIGERATOR CAR FLOOR John s. Lundvaliohicago, 111., assignor to 'Union Asbestos & Rubber Company, Chicago, Ill.,"a corporation of Illinois Application May s, 1939, serial No. 272,071

3 Claims.

VThe present invention relates to metal iioors andamore particularly to metal floors for refrigerator cars, the invention being particularly well adapted for usev in refrigerator cars equipped with overhead refrigerant containers.

It Ahas become a common practice, with certain types of perishable commodities, to place the ice directly on top of the lading, with the result that the meltage from the ice descends upon the floor of the lcar.

Inasmuch as the conventional icar floor is made of wood, with insulation underneath, the meltage which reaches the wood floor seeps through same and enters the insulation, causing it to become soggy, deteriorate and become generally worthless as an insulating medium. This requires expensive replacement of the insulation and necessitates the tearing up of the wood floor and replacement of any of the wood framework which has rotted due to the absorption of mois'- ture. i i l 1,

An object of the invention is the provision of an improved water-tight floor for a refrigerator car which eliminates the necessity for the usual Vheavy oor boards, water-proofed fabric and the labor involved. in applying the elements of the prior constructions.

' More particularly, the present invention con-I vtem-plates a construction adapted to contribute to the cooling eiciency of the car by providing a generally iiat metal iioor. It is well known that the salt brine resulting from meltage of .the refrigerant has heat absorbing qualities due to its low temperature and it is my object to utilize this brine by permitting it to remain upon the metal iiooring until it may #be directed into the drainage gutter by natural forces or by the occasional tilting of the car in transit.

Another object is to provide a water-proof floor which extendsupwardly of side walls of= carto prevent the water on the floor from rising to a point where it might pass the sides of the floor and contact the insulation.

Another object is topro-vide a sectional metal iioor having upstanding margins adjacent car -walls but not secured thereto, whereby a section may be removed readily without removing fasteners through the iioor sections and car walls. Another object is to provide a metal floor which may be secured in the car without fasteners extending through the oor, eliminating a common cause of leakage into the insulation. Y Another` object is the provision of a metal floor having side troughs formed integrally therewith, eliminating seams and. joints between Vtrough and floor sheet, which are expensive to make and, difficult to keep water-tight. A Another object is to provide a sectional metal floor-adapted to be joined into a floor unit and vhaving adjoining portions adapted to accommodate expansion and contraction of the metal without loosening the joints lbetween sections.

Another object is to provide a sectional metal iioor having means whereby a section maybe removed for repair or replacement without removing the other sections. I

Another object is to provide a metal floor having mounting means thereon for mounting the iioor rack hinges, eliminating the necessity for using hinge securing bolts through the side Walls and the possibility of leakage through the bolt holes, into the insulation.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the iioor of a refrigerator lcar, with the wall of the car shown in section, and constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line 2-12 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 isa schematic plan view of the floor, showing the preferred mode o-f dividing the floor up into sections.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional View, showing the supporting rmeans for central floor Stringer.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View, taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 'l is a fragmentary sectional view, taken v through one of the joints and joint strips, to illustrate fastening means to secure sections together.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken `0in line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

'stringers 21 and floor rack 29.

The side wall'construction shown in the accompanying drawings is adapted for use with overhead refrigerant containers, having vertical sidewall ducts for conducting the chilled air from the refrigerant compartment, adjacent the ceiling of car, to the space defined by the metal floor and the iloor rack.

In the form of the invention shown in the drawings the floor comprises a metallic sheet 3l, a wood sub-floor 33, a lower metallic sheet 35 and insulation 31 `intermediate sub-oor 33 "and lowermetallic sheet 35. The sub-floor 33 may comprise a layer of boards extending laterally of the car with their ends supported by side sills 23 and their mid-portions supported by Stringer 25. The plane portion of metallic sheet 3| may be supported in spaced relation to sub-door 33 by means of spaced apart wood stringers 39, which may be nailed directly to subfloor 33, and the spaces between these stringers may be lled with insulationv 4I.

Lower metallic sheet 35 may be secured, ad-y jacent its longitudinal margins,'to sills' I5 r-and |1, as by welding, whereby to substantially close the space between sills 5 and The floor insulation 31 may be placed upon metallic Vsheet 35, preferably in layers, intermediate opposite side sills 23 and may beheld downagainst top surface of center sill |5, along longitudinal center of car, byoor Stringer 5.` Sub-hoor 33 may be nailed directly to side sills 23Yand Stringer 25 and, when thus applied, will hold insulation 3l against displacement.

Means for securing the metal floor sections 3| against lateral and longitudinal movement in the car may comprise a pair of opposed angle bars liti, extending longitudinally of the car, adjacent the side walls thereof. Angle b ars may be secured to car framing in Aany suitable manner and may be provided with fastening means 42 adapted to cooperatively engage a portion of metal iloor section 3|. Fastening means 42 may comprise a bolt having its head welded to underside of horizontal leg of angle bar 4|), the threaded portion of bolt projecting upwardly through said horizontal leg, adapted to register with, an apertured portion of oor section 3| and to have a tapped nut applied thereto. Y

The side wall of the car may comprise an outer metallic sheet i9 and a parallel, inner metallic sheet i3 spaced therefrom, with insulation 2| disposed between sheets Yi9 and 43. A wood lining 45 mayV be provided in inwardly, parallel, spaced relation to sheet 43, providing a side wall duct d1, the lower margin of which may terminate above the metal floor 3| andpreferably on a plane with floor rack 29, t0 DrQvide air communicating means between duct 41 and the space deiined by iloor rack 29 and metal floor 3|.

The flooring of the car may compriseV a plurality of substantially rectangular sheet metal sections 3|, extending transversely ofthe car in abutting relationship with each other and cooperatively secured to eachother, adjacent their longitudinal margins, by means of a joint strip Q Metal floor section 3| may be provided with a depressed, transversely extending trough portion 5|, adjacent each end of Asection 3|, said trough portion 5| being preferably formed as an integral, downwardly extending corrugation, with adjacent, parallel marginal edge being outwardly and upwardly inclined.

The longitudinal margins oi floor sections 3| which abut adjacent sections 3| may be provided with a downwardly extending wall portion 53 and a substantially parallel, spaced apart, upwardly turned edge portion 55, connected thereto by means of a lateral wall portion 51, said upwardly turned edge portion 55 being adapted for back-toback engagement with edge portion 55 of adjacent oor section 3|. f n

The abutting edge portions 55 may be provided with a plurality of registering perforations 59 and slotted `portions 5|', adapted to receive fastening means @J3-and 65 respectively. 4 Y

Joint strip 49 may comprise an elongated metal sheet or plate folded lengthwise te fermani'n- 75 verted U-shaped member and may be provided with transverse registering perorations through the spaced apart downwardly extending portions, adapted to receive fastening means 63 and 65. The end portions of member 49 may terminate in downwardly extending, arcuate portions with outwardly and upwardly inclined extremities.

4VMeans for anchoring section 3| to angle bars 40 maycomprise angle brackets 66 which are preferably secured to each end margin of section 3|, Vone being applied adjacent each of the four corners. Bracket 66 may comprise an angle having a. substantially vertical leg secured to end margin of section 3|, as by welding, and a horizontal leg adapted to engage the top surface of the horizontal leg of `angler bar 4, andpmaybe provided with a,V perforation through the horizontalvleg to receive the upstanding threaded portion of fastening means, 42. The substantially vertical leg of vbracket ,66 may be formed to the contour ci trough portion 5| of section 3|, to which it is welded. n l

Means for securing the iloorrracl; hinge 1U to floor section .'-lrnayv comprise A[a substantially horizontal plate 38, adapted to bridge the trough 5i, which may be secured to section 3| by welding thevopposite marginsU of plate 68 to adjacent portionswof section 3|. Plate 6B may be provided with one Vor, moreY perforations to receive the boltsor other fastening means used to secure themes@ T0. tQplateSB-t.

F1001' .Sections 3|,. adiaenthe ,dQQrway of Car, may .belpfovdd with hQFZQnal end. margins .72 adaptedto abut theudnderside oithreshold member i4 and` may be welded thereto in order to provide a water-tight joint. I Y Floor` sections 3|, adjacentthe ends ofthe may have a substantially vertical longitudinal flange portion I6 adapted to abut kadjacent portion of end wall, and may be provided ywith outlets T8 which are shown in the drawings as tubesl or pipes having their upper end portions welded to the lowest portion of 'the troughs 75|, whereby the moistureirith car may be drained to the outside of car'. The outlet pipes 'I8 may be provided with any of theV conventional air sealing means, preferably on the outside of the car, to allow the water toY drain oimfreely and to prevent air communicating between the outside and inside of car, through otlet'pipe '18.v y

The car struetu're includes vthe conventional side posts 80, 'door po'stsf'Z and cornerposts 84, upon which is supported thewalls and roof structure of the car. ln the drawings the wall insulation 2| is shown in parallel, abutting relationship with the inner surfacey of side sheet |9 and may be secured in thi'sfposition by means of vertical posts 86, intermediate'side posts l8|) and inwardly spaced from side sheet T9.;

vertical posts' ss inyb provided withV longituainauy extendingwbounaiiing strinfgers ss and `secured mei-so by means of bolts 9b extending 1atera11y-theethrougn, lad.tpt'ed to' support the wood lining 45- which may be nailed to stringers 88,

Thel inner metallicsheetdB is adapted to form a waterproof inner'retairingwall for insulation 2i and may be bayedinwrdiy'aajacent side posts 8i? and may be flanged inwardly adjacent nailing stringer 88, with its vertical margins in vertical alignment with the inner face of Stringer 88. The lower margin of sheet `513 may bevdownwardly and inwardly inclinedto provide adjacent overlapping relationship with lthe upwardly and outwardly inclined nd'mar'gis of'loor sections 3|, whereby the moisture descending upon the inner surface of sheet 43 will be directed into trough 5|.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 12, the sub-floor 33 may be cut out to accommodate the downwardly extending arcuate wall portion 51 of oor secthe joint strip 49 which register with slots (il in edge portions 55 (in the assembled position), before the joint strip 49 is applied to abutting edges 55. Where the perforations in the joint strip 49 register with the perforations 59 of edges 55, the shouldered sleeve member 93 may be inserted through the aligned perforations 59, in edges 55, and the perforations in the joint strip 49, and the joint strip may be clampingly secured to abutting edges 55 by means of a bolt which may be screwed up tight in the sleeve member 63.

After the joint strip 49 is secured in place by the fastening members the adjacent grooves may be filled with a suitable, preferably non-hardening compound. The compound may extend flush with the top surface of oor sections 3|, whereby to provide means for making the joint watertight and to prevent the bolts loosening, as best shown in Fig. 6.

It will be noted that clearance is provided between the end margins of floor sections 3| and adjacent portion of the side wall of car, eliminating the difficulties involved where the metal floor sections are intended to t snugly yagainst the side walls of the car, due to variations in the width of the car and also variations in the lengths of the fabricated metal sections. By providing this clearance adjacent the ends of the oor sections 3| the sections are more easily handled during installation and, if a certain range of variations are to be accommodated, the perforations in the horizontal leg of bracket 6B may be elongated in a direction transversely of the car.

The floor racks 29 are preferably foraminous, to allow the chilled air adjacent the metal floor to rise through the apertures in the oor rack and enter the lading supported upon the floor racks. Floor racks 29 are preferably hinged adjacent the side wall of car and are preferably supported upon stringers extending laterally of the car, in order to accommodate circulation of air transversely of the car, as is customary where overhead refrigeration is used.

It is essential, where metal car floors comprise a series of metal sheets assembled into a unitary metal floor, that they be prevented from separating at the seams or joints, due to expansion and contraction of the unitary floor caused by extremes in temperature, and the present invention is provided with a joint structure wherebjr the expansion and contraction vof the assembled floor sections 3| will be accommodated by a slight springing of the members 53 and 51 of floor sections 3| and also by the yieldable sealing compound, without affecting the edge portions 55 and associated joint strip 49.

While a metallic sheet 43 is shown in the drawings as the inner retaining wall for the side insulation 2| and as one of the duct walls, this wall may comprise a wood lining similar to wood lining 45 and spaced outwardly therefrom. If a wood lining is substituted for metallic sheet 43 the surface of the lining facing the duct may be covered with a waterproof p-aint or asphaltum compound to prevent the moisture within the duct from contacting the sidev insulation 2|, and a suitable metal fiashing strip may be secured to said lining adjacent the end portions of floor sections 3|, and flared inwardly to provide overlapping relationship with the end portions of sections 3|, whereby the moisture descending through the duct will be directed into the trough portion 5|.

The longitudinal iioor Stringer 25 is preferably spacedl from its supporting means, which is shown in the drawings as `center sill I5, to eliminate the possibility of Stringer 25 oscillating veritically as the floor load directly above the stringer may be increased or decreased. Stringer 25 is preferably mounted in a cradle member 94 which may be secured to center sill |5 by means of a bolt 96, which may be held down on center sill by means of one nut and the Stringer 25 may be held down on the cradle member 94 by a second nut. While I have shown and described what I now consider to be the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative Iand I -contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l, In a iioor, the combination of a metallic flooring provided with a depressed trough portion adjacent a margin thereof and terminating lin an outwardly and upwardly extending margin, and a plate-like hinge mounting member cooperatively secured to said metallic flooring in overlying bridged relationship with said trough portion and secured to said metallic flooring adjacent opposite margins of said mounting member.

2. In a compartment having a side wall, a metallic flooring providedL with a depressed trough portion adjacent a margin thereof and terminating in an outwardly and upwardly extending margin adjacent and parallel to said side wall, a longitudinally extending member adjacent said side wall and said outwardly and upwardly extending margin and having an abutting engagement with a portion of said side wall, a bracket member secured to said outwardly and upwardly extending margin adapted for cooperative abutting engagement with said longitudinally extending member, and fastening means cooperatively securing said 'bracket member and said longitudinally extending member, whereby said metallic flooring will be secured against lateral movement relative to said side wall.

3. In a refrigerator car floor, the combination of sectional abutting metallic oor sheets extending transversely of the car and having upwardly turned margins adjacent the side wall of car, a platelike hinge mounting member having one of its margins secured to said upwardly turned margin and having its opposite margin secured to the adjacent portion of the iioor sheet, said mounting member being spaced from the portions of said sheet intermediate its secured margins.

JOHN S. LUNDVALL. 

